1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an information processing method, an information processing apparatus, and an information processing program used for variable data printing (VDP).
2. Description of the Related Art
With the recent development of high-speed, high-quality electrophotographic or ink jet printing equipment, a new print-on-demand (POD) market is emerging in addition to the conventional print market. POD aims at treating a relatively small-lot print job than that for conventional printing equipment without using a large device or system in a short delivery period. Therefore, POD takes full advantage of a digital imaging device such as a digital copier and a digital multifunction device instead of a large-scale printing device and method to implement digital print using electronic data.
Such POD employs more advanced digital technology than the conventional printing technology and thus has found wide use in management and control of printing using a computer. This allows the quality of POD to be closer to that of the conventional printing technology. In such a background, the POD market provides a print for pay (PFP) service and a centralized reproduction department (CRD) service. PFP refers to a printing service provided at a copy print shop; and CRD refers to a printing service for intra-company use.
In addition, there is a method of making best use of features of the digital imaging device which is derived from POD and called variable data printing (VDP). In VDP, the content of printing can be changed based on information stored in a database each time it is printed. For example, VDP can be applied to direct mail which changes merchandise information to be provided according to customer information, detailed statement which changes numeric values according to the use state such as utility costs and the like. Therefore, VDP is quickly coming into a wide use in a market for direct mail and the like.
A piece of print data required for printing by VDP is called VDP data. An application for creating VDP data is called a VDP application. The VDP application provides a user with a user interface for page layout. For a general print layout application, the user uses the user interface to place an object such as a character and an image. For VDP, the object may change depending on the database. Accordingly, for a VDP application, the user specifies only an area, in which the object is placed, more specifically its position or its size, and the type of the object (character, image, graphics, and the like) which is placed in the area. Of the areas in which the object is placed, in particular, the area in which the object changes according to information of a record table in the database is called “variable area”. On the other hand, the area in which the object does not change according to information of a record table in the database is called “fixed area”.
The variable area is subject to a rule which uses the information of a record table in the database as a condition for determining the object to be placed in the variable area according to the information of a record table in the database. For example, if the value for “Age” in a record table of the database indicates “20 to 29”, an image object for young person is placed in the variable area; and if the value indicates “60 or older”, an image object for old person is placed in the variable area.
As described above, the VDP application creates VDP data associated with an area on a page and the database, and sends the VDP data to the digital imaging device. When the VDP data is received, the digital imaging device performs printing based on the association in the VDP data.
In order to perform the above printing, VDP needs to use a color profile to perform color conversion on an object. At present, if the color profile is not embedded in the object, VDP uses a common color profile on every object.
If VDP is not used, a color profile is applied to an object as follows. First, a keyword is extracted from intermediate print data required for printing, and a previously set score is read with reference to a predetermined association table associating a keyword with a color profile for each intermediate print data. Then, a calculation is made to obtain a product of the score and the number of extracted keywords and to select a color profile associated with a keyword having the highest product (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-342048). Alternatively, there is another method of determining a color characteristic of an inputted document or an object and selecting an appropriate color profile based on the result (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-16449).
As described above, a VDP application can place various objects in a variable area according to a record table of the database. In other words, a VDP application handles many objects.
In addition, the recent trend in high quality image printing requires a color conversion in which an appropriate color profile (such as an ICC profile) is selected and applied according to the object to be printed. For example, an AdobeRGB profile should be applied to an AdobeRGB image object; an sRGB profile should be applied to an sRGB image object; and a JMPA profile should be applied to a CMYK image object.
If a corresponding color profile is embedded in every object, the embedded color profile may be used. Unfortunately, this is seldom the case; thus, a color profile corresponding to the object must be set to each object.
For example, if there are three objects in a page, the user has only to specify color profiles up to three times to create print data in general. However, if there are three variable areas in a page and five different objects may be placed in each variable area, the user has to specify color profiles fifteen times (3×5=15) to create VDP data for the objects. Therefore, it is very troublesome to create VDP data and specify color profiles required for printing using the VDP data.